FIRE bosses last night defended an internal memo to staff attacking their &#x201c;totally unacceptable&#x201d; performance over the number of fire deaths this year.

The memo sent out to North Wales Fire and Rescue Service staff by chief officer Simon Smith blasted &#x201c;unacceptable&#x201d; performance.

But the fire service last night defended the chief&#x2019;s words, saying every accidental death this year could have been prevented one way or another.

The memo says there had been seven accidental fire deaths in North Wales&#x2019; homes since April 1 this year, amounting to &#x201c;a staggering increase&#x201d;.

However, in the same time, fire services in mid and South Wales have had no accidental fire deaths in homes, &#x201c;despite both services having larger populations than us and manifestly more serious urban and inner city problems.&#x201d;

It reads: &#x201c;Our performance is totally unacceptable. By now, the efforts we have made should be making a real difference &#x2013; instead we are back to the levels of five years ago.

&#x201c;It is well-known amongst professionals, if not in wider society, that most fire death victims die long before the emergency services receive their first call.

&#x201c;On those few occasions where that has not been the case, our operational response has been exemplary. What we are talking about is a failure of the proactive side of our work to deliver acceptable results.

&#x201c;I am, therefore, forced to conclude that the real reason for us failing our communities in this way is that we are either not doing something or something we are doing is wrong.

&#x201c;For that reason, I will shortly be announcing measures to both identify and deal with what can only be described as a crisis. It may be that what emerges is unpalatable and challenging &#x2013; so be it.

&#x201c;We have reached the point where excuses and complacency must be made unacceptable in our service.&#x201d;

&#x201c;If you look at the deaths this year, two of the deaths were down to excess alcohol, two were down to smoking, one involved alcohol and smoking, one was faulty wiring and in one fire, smoke alarms were activated and no-one, including neighbours, called the fire service.

All of these were preventable, said Mr Enness, who dubbed the memo a &#x201c;wake-up call to all of us&#x201d;.

&#x201c;It is not a blame exercise and it is deliberately hard-hitting to wake us all up,&#x201d; he said.

&#x201c;We have to aim to help and protect vulnerable members of the community by a variety of means.

&#x201c;My premise is I think we can all make a difference. But I need all my staff to help me to see how we can move forward.&#x201d;